Our 2019 Herbstalk Teaching Team

​Arira (he/she/they) is a mover, choreographer, healing artist, and community organizer. Studying dance since the age of 4, they have used dance to unlock the hidden language of the soul. She was raised in a home where her grandma taught her to guard what she allowed to enter her physical and spiritual woman, teaching her that plants have always been the primary source of medicine to heal the full body-spirit. They have traveled the world in search of how to create sanctuaries for Black bodies with the traditions of their ancestors.

​Jade brings a love of the bioregionally abundant herbs to her work as a community and clinical herbalist. When she’s not teaching bioregional herbalism you can find her roaming the hedges with her harvest basket or at home in the kitchen brewing-up some potent food as medicine. She’s a mother to her 10 and 6 year-old daughters, partner, tender of chickens and cats and new puppy, blogger and writer, online educator, and half-gardener to her mostly wild gardens. She cofounded the Greenfield Community Herbal Clinic, dedicated to affordable herbal care and also maintains a long-distance clinical practice. She lives in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts in unceded Nipmuk territory.

Lauren Almquist is an herbalist, gardener, and landscape designer based in Jamaica Plain, MA. She is the founder of Heartspace Herbals & Garden Design and empowers people to create outdoor spaces that support their vision. Most of what she has learned has come directly from experience with plants, elements, and spirit. She studied herbalism and plant spirit healing at the Gaia School of Healing in Vermont, and studied permaculture design through the Resilience Hub in Maine. She collaborates with community organizations like the Boston Food Forest Coalition to expand access to nourishing and medicinal plants, creating space for individuals and communities to connect with plants, the earth, themselves, and each other.

Nancy Anderson<< Canis Major Herbals >>Class: Urban Herbal Dog Walk​​Focusing on canine health, Nancy utilizes herbs as one part of a more comprehensive model in fostering the whole dog in his or her potential as vibrant and healthy and happy. She considers each dog an individual with his or her own unique needs and enjoys empowering others to see beyond the conventional view of canine wellness. She works primarily with herbs native to New England, and feels that they work best as an adjunct to proper nutrition and activity as the foundation of health. Following an internship at Misty Meadows Herbal Center, Nancy was a staff herbalist at The Natural Dog, as well as The Herbal Path, before returning to Somerville, MA, to continue the journey.

Barbara Aspland-Wolf << Garden Gate Herbals >>Class: When Plants Talk​Barbara is an Energy Healer with training as an Herbalist, Flower Essence Practitioner and Reiki Master/Teacher with over ten years’ experience, and is sole owner of Garden Gate Herbals in MA. Barbara is a member and active participant in several herbal organizations and conferences, has written for herbal newsletters, and has held officer positions in the Northeast Herbal Association. Barbara sees clients and teaches a variety of classes in her community.

Aja is an entrepreneur, team-leader, and cannabis advocate with over 15 years of experience in the engineering industry. She is a mechanical engineer by education and graduated cum laude from Northeastern University. She cut her teeth professionally as an engineering consultant and specialist, working in natural catastrophe risk engineering, and by 2011 started her first entrepreneurial businesses. Aja’s business ethos is rooted in the belief that success comes from creating innovative technologies that can be shared with communities that need them the most.

Sophia Avramides << Avraveda >>Class: Daily Doshic Care and Home Herbalism​Sophia is the founder of Avraveda, a company with the intention to help others navigate the best way to take care of their vessels. She is a NAMA-certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor and Reiki Practitioner with an educational background in Health Psychology. She strives to bring together ancient philosophy with the modern day world in a way that is insightful. A student of the cosmos, Sophia often seeks new perspectives to evolve understanding healing the body, and actively integrates these studies into her teachings and offerings. Sophia resides in Southcoast Massachusetts.

Benoit Azagoh-Kouadio << Boston Entheogenic Network >><< Round the Bend Farm >>Class: Ayahuasca Medicine: Following the Sacred Vine​Benoit Azagoh-Kouadio lives and works as a member of Round the Bend Farm in South Dartmouth, MA; a holistic agriculture based small-farm, sustainable living community and educational center. As both a member of the Boston Entheogenic Network and a perennial student of herbal medicine traditions he has been a passionate advocate for the place of psychedelics in modern medicine, wellness practice and healing for over a decade. He is particularly interested in the intersections of psychedelic medicine with herbalism, race and equity, religious tradition and the changes in ecological consciousness that are needed for our changing world.

Elise Bish is a workshop facilitator, sexuality educator, and Desire Catalyst. She believes that the purpose of life is to walk though the world with our desire leading the way, and to breathe in the fullness of existence with all of our senses. As a Desire Catalyst, Elise combines systemic family constellations, embodiment practices, and conscious sexual skill building to support her clients in cultivating a healthy relationship to their desire. Her work stems from a range of modalities that centralize the wisdom of the body and its capacity to perceive, feel, and express. Elise approaches desire from a multidimensional perspective, with consciousness at the core of her practice.

Jan's green thumb began in the kitchen, though he didn't know it at the time. During the 12 years he spent in the restaurant world his love of herbs grew based initially on their wonderful smells. Now he is a consultant and researcher with a focus on solanaceous and entheogenic plants. He finds the interaction of plants and human consciousness to be endlessly engaging.

Debra is a flower essence practitioner and clinical herbalist with a private practice in Yarmouth, Maine. She is also a senior practitioner at Delta Gardens, a center for flower essence research, production, and education in Hampton Falls, NH. She is a passionate researcher and maker of essences, and loves teaching and sharing about them.

Laura Beohner is the President & Co-Founder of The Healing Rose, an organic CBD body care company that uses 100% Certified Organic carrier oils, essential oils, butters, waxes, and herbs. She has been a medical cannabis patient for 6+ years and believes that cannabis and hemp are Master Plants that will change the world. Laura has been a public speaker at conventions and trade shows all over New England for the past 3 years and is passionate about teaching others about topics such as Infusions, Topicals, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Branding & Women in Cannabis. She received her BSBA from Northeastern University with a double concentration in Entrepreneurship & Marketing. Laura is on the Board of Directors for Elevate Northeast.

Terrylynn, of the Mohawk Nation, Six Nations Territory, is a retired educator and lifelong traditional Seedkeeper. She spends her time gardening, beekeeping, breeding corn, rematriating Haudenosaunee seeds and revitilizing indigenous agricultural ways. She speaks internationally about indigenous climate smart agriculture and food security and authors a column “In My Longhouse Basket” as well as the book “Culturally Appropriate Aboriginal Education”. Será:sera is building an Earthship (a sustainable earth friendly building) at her public gardens, to be used as a Haudenonsaunee Sustainable Skills Centre. All are welcome to come and share as we revitalize our responsibility to live in harmony with Mother Earth.

​Sarah Byrne is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and the co-owner of Root Family Medicine, an innovative primary care practice in Norwood, MA that weaves together Western, Functional and Herbal Medicines to cultivate wellness by addressing the root cause of symptoms. She is currently enrolled in Dr. Tieraona Low Dog’s Foundations in Herbal Medicine program and will apply for her Clinical Herbalism Certificate this fall at the Medicine Lodge Ranch in New Mexico. As a child, Dr. Byrne’s name was Sassafras; in herbal medicine, this tree is used medicinally to “uplift the spirit” and “bring light” – her mission is to revolutionize Primary Care by building a culture of joy and empowerment with harmony between holistic and Western approaches to health.

Juliette Abigail Carr, RH (AHG), RNC, is a clinical herbalist and the proprietor of Old Ways Herbal School of Plant Medicine (Newfane, Vermont), which offers hands-on learning in her Botanical Sanctuary forest classroom. Multiple levels of learning include beginner and intermediate courses, and a rigorous apprenticeship tailored to student interest in cultivation, medicine-making, and more. Clinical appointments specializing in the health of women, babies, and children are available for both long-distance and local clients, including autoimmunity, fertility, and pregnancy concerns. Juliette is a national speaker on herbalism and gardening, and her writing has been published in numerous magazines. She also raises pastured heritage meats with her family in the grand tradition of multi-tasking Vermont farmers.

​Claire Cheney is the founder of Cambridge-based Curio Spice Co., a public benefit corporation. Curio celebrates spices and herbs from both fair-trade co-ops abroad as well as small farms here in New England. Claire’s passion for plants began here in Massachusetts where she grew up, and deepened as she traveled and learned about the interconnectedness of the plant world.

Anna Booth Cohen is an herbalist and educator based in Providence, RI. She offers individual herbal consults and herbal education, including classes, workshops, and programs. ​Anna has been practicing herbalism for the past 8 years, completing a three year apprenticeship at the Gaia School in Putney, VT, an advanced program at the Boston School of Herbal Studies, and a year-long apprenticeship at the Ohlone Center in Berkeley, CA. She specializes in combining ancestral consciousness work with plant spirit medicine.

Leah Constantz<<Live Express Create>>Class: Flower Essences, Meditation and Intuitive Art Creation​Leah is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Expressive Arts Therapist and Flower Essences Practitioner. She facilitates healing arts workshops in the Boston area, is a mixed media artist and a devoted meditation enthusiast. She currently works in private practice in Somerville, MA where she meets clients for psychotherapy as well as other healing arts modalities, including flower essences. ​

Claire Françoise Delevingne<< Reignite Your Spirit >>Class: Bless This Earth​Intertwining the Inner journey of the Soul with the outer ecological manifestation of the world, Claire facilitates the bridging of these two worlds through the medium of spontaneous and organic movement (Eco Dance), through individual private healing Sessions and through her retreat & small group ceremony programs SHAMANA in Boston and ESTRELLITA in Tulum, Mexico. Claire is a Reiki Master and holds a masters in Dance/Movement Therapy - Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge. She has travelled throughout the world studying with Shamans, medicine people, and mystics, learning how to heal physically and spiritually through connection with the Earth and its medicine, involving movement, sound, art, plant/herbal wisdom, meditation and hands-on healing. Claire has worked with children, teens, adults and elders internationally for over a decade, including the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Tunisia, France, California, New York, Mexico and Boston.

Michelle de Lima has been growing food and herbs for 13 years. She enjoys growing, harvesting, and preparing her own herbal medicines. For ten years, she worked as an organic farmer. Now, she is Engagement Manager for the Trustees Boston Community Gardens, providing in-garden and classroom education on a range of urban gardening topics for Boston-area home and community gardeners and organizing the annual free conference, the Gardeners' Gathering, each March.

Dr. Jessica Dolan << Jessica Dolan >>Class: Ethnobotany of Northeastern Woodlands, Fields and Riverbanks: Indigenous and Naturalized Edible Wild Plants​Jessica is an environmental anthropologist and ethnobotanist, who researches and writes about human relationships with the natural world, land-based learning, environmental management, food security, culturally significant plant species, and composting. She has worked with Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States for the last eleven years on projects that contribute to environmental restoration, education, traditional knowledge revitalization, land protection, and Indigenous sovereignty. Her current work is museum/archival and community-based research to write a field guide on Haudenosaunee and Algonquian ethnobotany. She is also working on a paper on ethics of Native/non-Native collaborations in environmental work, and one on Haudenosaunee traditional food systems and sovereignty.

Krystina Friedlander<< Baraka Birth >>Class: Circling the Year: Circular Calendars & Personal Ecology​Krystina Friedlander CPM, NHCM is an herbalist and New Hampshire licensed midwife serving individuals and families from Seacoast, NH through Boston, offering well-person care, herbal consultations, and comprehensive prenatal care, home birth and postpartum care. She also teaches childbirth education courses, natural fertility control, and a variety of herbalism classes. When she's not at a birth, you'll find Krystina doting on her herbal garden or hiking the woods of New England with her budding-herbalist daughter.

Marianne Fritz is the founder of Green Heart Community Herbalism. Based in Arlington and Seattle, she enjoys teaching about the hyper-built (urban) environment, the medicinal plants that survive and thrive in urban settings, and our relationships to both.​

Ellen earned her degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Bastyr University did an extended herbal medicine residency at Chengdu University Hospital in Sichuan province, China. While living in Seattle, she served as the Herbal Pharmacist for the Bastyr Clinic. She began her clinical practice of Chinese Medicine and has been teaching and practicing full time in the San Juan Islands for over 18 years. Ellen's life long passion is herbal formulation and moxibustion and helping people learn to build a relationship with plants. She has taught at the Florida Herb Conference, The New England Women’s Herbal Conference, Dandelion Seed Conference and was a featured presenter at the Medicine For the People Gathering.

As a midwife, doula, and lactation counselor, Molly Geisler loves to explore the art and science of birth and believes moms and babies deserve the highest level of compassion, choice, and respect. She is adding nutrition classes and consults to her care after working within Amish communities, refugee camps, and with families in New England of all socio-economics statuses and experiencing so closely the impact of diet and lifestyle on fertility, childbearing, and child-rearing. In her own life Molly loves to move her body, travel (when she is off call), and align her being with activities that encourage the ego to dissolve. ​

Chani is a holistic health practitioner currently pursuing her Master’s in herbal medicine who weaves together her wise woman herbalist foundation under Susan Weed, Ayurvedic study, hemp education, and Reiki training to offer whole picture, health and wellness alternatives to modern medicine. She currently holds weekly classes at Bliss & Vinegar Cafe & Apothecary and she offers consultations as well as handcrafted herbal and small-batch CBD products online.

Ania Gruca Class: Finding the Sacred in Plants Walk

Ania is a Polish-born woman teaching and facilitating in the Wise Woman tradition in Beverly MA. Ania has deep roots connecting with her traditions and lineage in Eastern European herbalism and folk medicine. Her business, Thirteen Moons Healing, supports clients and community through sacred plant medicine, energy and body work. She is a co-founder of the North Shore Herbal Network, a community of herbalists and enthusiasts exploring the many aspects of plants on the North Shore of Boston.

Kristin Henningsen<< Banyan Moon Botanicals >><< Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism>>Class: The Art of Formulation​Kristin Henningsen MS, RH (AHG), RYT, is a clinical herbalist who first fell in love with plants in the desert southwest. She’s passionate about bringing plant medicine back to the people, integrating Western Herbalism, TCM, and Ayurvedic practices to empower folks over their healthcare. Currently she serves as faculty and clinician for the Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism, and adjunct faculty for several University programs.

Madelon Hope<< Boston School of Herbal Studies >>Class: Stress, Mood, Immunity & The Gut​Madelon Hope is a Clinical Herbalist and Licensed Psychotherapist who has directed the Boston School of Herbal Studies for the past sixteen years. She teaches Herbal Apprenticeship programs, Advanced Training, and offers herbal classes throughout the year. She integrates herbs, nutrition, flower essences, and psychotherapy into her work with clients and focuses particularly on stress, depression, digestive issues, and pain. Her practice is informed by the diagnostic approaches of Chinese medicine. ​

Nina has a passion for helping people take control of their own health using readily available resources, such as plants and hands. She has been in private clinical practice in the Boston area since 1999. Like many other practitioners, Nina began by looking for solutions to her own health problems, and eventually found herself answering questions from family and friends. This led to more study with the plants as well as with books and people. ​

Amanda is a native of Mississippi who has lived in Boston for nine years. She loves to have the grass under her feet and the stars over her head. She loves books and green growing things. She's an academic, as well as a mystic, and believes that, at the core, there is no contradiction between science and magic. There is a universe outside of us, but, equally, each person has a universe within. Amanda is passionate about helping individuals explore their inner cosmos, while also helping them connect deeply to the world around them. She believes that in order to be well, we must learn to love well, move well, eat well, and sleep well.

Kate is a folk herbalist, plant witch, and energy healer. She has studied herbalism all over the country from Washington State to New Orleans to North Carolina and beyond. She is deeply invested in the magical and social justice side of herbalism and she weaves these themes into her classes. She currently works at HausWitch Home and Healing in Salem, MA and leads the "Herb Witch" tours through NowAge tours and travel. She practices Reiki, Tarot, Flower and Crystal Essence Healing through Laurel Tree Healing Arts in Salem, MA.

Tony(a) studied Natural Therapy at Raworth College of Natural Therapies in England and has been working in the field since the early 1990's when she apprenticed in the Wise Woman Tradition of healing . She has run Blazing Star Herbal School in Western Mass since 2000 and has graduated over 200 herbal apprentices. Blazing Star Herbal School is dedicated to teaching traditional herbal medicine in a way that supports a more sustainable future for all living beings and shows respect for the integrity of nature. The school offers a unique perspective on herbalism, weaving social, ecological and political aspects of health and healing through the study of medicinal herbs, ceremony and food practices. Tony(a) inspires students to find their own healing path by creating a personal relationship with the natural world. She has taught at the Northeast Womens Herbal Conference, The Green Nations Gathering, The Flower Essence Conference, The Northeast Aromatherapy Conference, NOFA, UPS and several other conferences. ​

Felix lives in the Connecticut River valley of Western MA, and works with folks of all ages teaching nature connection and wild plant literacy classes. He also works with Help Yourself, a non-profit that designs, plants and maintains community access gardens and orchards in the Valley, free for all to harvest from.

Paige MalloryClass: Ayahuasca Medicine: Following the Sacred Vine​Paige Mallory is a clinical pharmacist with specialized study and training in pain management, palliative care, opioid dependency, and anticoagulation management. Her interests and values include entheogens, sacred medicines, ceremony, sustainability, integrity, healing, cognitive liberty, cats and the ocean. She is part of the leadership circle of Boston Entheogenic Network (BEN), whose mission is to establish an inclusive community that cultivates, educates, and celebrates the exploration of consciousness.

Bianca is a home, body, soul shaman. She works with plants and energy in order to remove that which keeps you stuck living a life you know you deserve more out of. She is a flower essence practitioner, a shadow work coach, a home energy transformer, and Feng Shui consultant. ​

Ryn Midura & Katja Swift<< The CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism>> Class: Holistic Movement Skills for HerbalistsClass: Clinical Skills for Herbalists (INTENSIVE)​Katja & Ryn are a wife-and-husband team who founded the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism in 2010. They offer online and in-person instruction in foundational, advanced, and clinical herbalism, as well as holistic business building, movement skills, and wilderness first aid. Learn more and take a free mini-course at commonwealthherbs.com!

Hailing from South Boston, MA, Caitlin Moakley is a plant medicine advocate, floral and fungal foodie and champion of conscious ingredients in personal care. Caitlin is the owner and operator of Soil and Spirit, an independent consultancy focusing on collaborating and creating with small businesses in the natural products industry and cannabis and psychedelic communities. When Caitlin isn't thinking outside of the box with her clients, she's orchestrating quite the cacophony in the kitchen with her weapon of choice: the S-Blade or browsing through her many books in her home resource library. Caitlin is thrilled to be teaching at Herbstalk this year, and can't wait to learn with you!

Sriram Moorthy is an Ayurvedic practitioner and the founder of Ved Living, a health and wellness company. For the past 6 years he has assisted clients throughout the US address health imbalances by helping them personalize their diet, exercise, sleep routines and other daily habits. Sriram offers private consultations, performs detoxifying marma therapies, conducts group workshops and provides online Ayurvedic wellness plans. He graduated as an Ayurvedic practitioner from the Dinacharya Institute in NY in 2011 and is trained in advanced pulse assessment and marma therapy from the Art of Living foundation. Download his free ebook to learn 8 strategies that can help you naturally beat fatigue, boost energy and feel rejuvenated.

Clair is a California native who remembers that her first experiences with plants were the bundles of kelp she played with as a child on the beach, and subsequently tried to drag home, to her parents' dismay. She is now a clinical herbalist and personal chef in the Boston area. She created Plants and Provisions to fuse healthy food and herbs to empower her clients to take charge of their own health. She holds private wellness sessions, cooks for clients, and teaches individuals & small groups cooking skills and how to incorporate herbs into their everyday lives. In her spare time, you can find her practicing yoga, and wandering through the forest with her pup.

Katie Munn is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Nutritionist that offers herbal consultations + classes in the lakes region and the greater Portland Maine area. She also is an Adjunct Professor at University of Southern Maine teaching Botanical Therapies.Katie has a kind, compassionate demeanor which she brings to her classes and consultations.

​Shannon has been a practicing skincare therapist for 15 years. Her love for natural health and skincare have brought her to the idea of helping people from the inside out. She believes that spending time listening to clients, & developing a personal connection will lead to effective results for happy & balanced skin. Her knowledge of skin, essential oils, and plants help to soothe and nourish her clients' well-being. With a combination of listening, intuition and thoughtful suggestions she is able to build a trusting relationship guiding clients down a healthy path.​ Shannon believes that ​self-care is not just about the products that we interact with, but how we can feed and nourish our souls.

Linda Patterson, M.A. founder and director of the Eclectic Institute of Aromatherapy and Herbal Studies has over thirty years of experience working with herbs and essential oils. Her love for plants inspired her to complete an education in the sciences at Smith College to better understand plants, their functions, and the challenges they now face in their ever-changing environments. This love has led her to become a Master Gardener as well as a Flower Essences Practitioner, and her passion for the healing arts inspired her to become a Reiki Practitioner and Reflexologist. Being a food activist has guided her on a path of health through nutrition, the primary source of energy, longevity and vitality. Linda teaches internationally as well as throughout the New England area. Her dynamic style of teaching encompasses a wide variety of healing modalities, which embrace a holistic approach to health and well-being.

Herb Pearce is an expert in the Enneagram, having taught over 2000 Enneagram workshops in the last 30 years. He works with individuals, couples and families using the Enneagram for relationship communication skills and is the author of 6 books, 4 on the Enneagram. He has been studying herbs for 4 years and has led plant, flower, tree and bird walks for over 15 years.​

Tommy Priester is a Clinical Herbalist, Wellness Counselor and founder of Bear Medicine Holistic Services & Heart Mind Integration Healing, and has been in practice since 1998. He combines extensive knowledge of Western herbalism, shamanism, spiritual healing, aromatherapy, holistic nutrition with ancient wisdom traditions from Native American to Chinese and Ayurvedic cultures. Tommy is a masterful teacher and facilitator who combines expert knowledge of his subject with gentle humor. In addition to his own workshops and seminars he continues to be a faculty member at The Boston School of Herbal Studies for 15 years running. Tommy's commitment to his own healing path and his close connection to the natural world is an inspiration to his clients and students and all who know him.

Chris Rice is an ethnobotanical researcher, lecturer, writer and filmmaker. He has been featured in Complex Magazine, PRØHIBTD, Nugg, DigBoston, Mercola.com and numerous other publications. He is perhaps best known for his documentary "Cannabis: A Lost History" This is his third year speaking at Herbstalk.

Ashley Reynolds<< Elmore Mountain Therapeutics >>Class: Women in Cannabis​Ashley is the President and Co-Founder of Elmore Mountain Therapeutics. A full spectrum CBD extract company in Elmore, VT. Ashley has made a strong commitment to collaboration with women owned businesses to elevate their business models to cannabis. From dog treats to chocolates, green beauty to cookies, Ashley has been able to collaborate with a half a dozen women owned brands in Vermont and Massachusetts. Inspiration through education as well as transparency through lab testing has been EMT CBD's secret sauce to success. Hear her recent Tedx talk on women in cannabis on Youtube today.

​Adrie combines over ten years of working with food as a healing tool, formal herbal education, her experiences as a parent, and a passion for helping women claim their wellness. She is a trained chef, and has studied herbalism with Rosemary Gladstar, Brittany Nickerson, Pixie Lighthorse, and Jade Alicandro Mace. Adrie has taught at the Good Medicine Confluence and NOFA, and teaches classes and offers consultations in Northampton, MA.

Ruth Roudiez​Class: Plant Spirit Medicine & Holistic Gardening

​Ruth Roudiez learned to garden on the beautiful and lavish residential landscapes of Nantucket, where she later helped manage the largest garden center. After studying Sustainable Community Development in Senegal, WWOOOFing there and Washington state, she moved to the Boston area and started an ecological minded landscaping business. She received her Permacutlure Design Certification through The Resilience Hub and continues to mind the business from Somerville, MA while collaborating with local permaculture companies, Boston Food Forest Coalition, and iFarm in Boxford.

Kasey Sampson Class: Yoga for Everybody

​Kasey is a 200 hr Yoga Alliance certified Yoga Instructor through Soul Culture Yoga School in Beverly, MA. Kasey first came to her mat in 2007 where she found a deep spiritual connection to the practice of yoga and its ability to help one emotionally, physically and mentally. She carried this relationship with yoga closely through her own physical injury, surrendering to and finding beauty in the spiral of the healing journey. She is a teacher and practicing Herbalist from the North Shore as well as a certified JivAtma Energy Healer. Her mission is to help make yoga accessible to EVERYbody through her offerings of gentle modifications through a slow to moderate Vinyasa flow.

Vicki SargsyanClass: Herbstalk Opening Circle

Vicki has studied traditional Western herbalism and Ayurvedic practices for several years, deepening her knowledge of the plant world with herbal teachers such as Brittany Wood Nickerson, Heather Irvine and Steph Zabel. She also works as the Assistant Manager + Bulk Herbs Lead at Cambridge Naturals, where she helps connect people with herbs every day. Vicki's mission in teaching is to be a voice for the plants, and to share their healing with as many people as possible. She wants to inspire her students in creating their own herbal experiences, and to have fun while doing it!

Mischa Schuler is an herbal practitioner offering consultations in Portland, Maine in her private practice Wild Carrot Herbs. She has a zest for life and a playful, caring attitude, which she brings to her practice. She specializes in anxiety support for women and teens, as well as reproductive and thyroid health. She earned a Master of Science degree in Herbal Medicine at the Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, Maryland during a three-year course of clinical study and continues to study with mentors. She has been in practice for nearly fifteen years and facilitates herbal apprenticeships and classes locally. The plants are her greatest teachers.

Kathryn has dedicated her life to the study and practice of non-duality and inner work. She is the author and illustrator of “Here You Are,” a collection of original minimalist tantric paintings and straightforward non-dual writings designed to guide you into the present moment, into your body, and into your heart. She teaches meditation classes and workshops on poisonous plants and various spiritual topics. She graduated with a degree in fine arts from Naropa University, a Buddhist-inspired university, in Boulder, Colorado, did a sacred plant medicine apprenticeship with The Gaia School of Healing in Putney, Vermont and recently completed a Hakomi training, a type of mindfulness based body-centered psychotherapy.

​Hannah is a clinical herbalist based in West Newbury, MA and has used herbs her entire life. She has a home-based practice where she sees clients, creates organic herbal products, offers classes and herb walks, and tends to her botanical sanctuary and Monarch Butterfly Way Station gardens. Her herbal studies began nearly three decades ago in the kitchen of her godmother, a practicing herbalist. Hannah has studied with additional and equally accomplished herbalists and health care practitioners on topics of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, aromatherapy, flower essences, product making, plant identification, and ethical wildcrafting.

Mary worked in the chemical industry as a chemist, engineer, manager and director for 20 years. After leaving industry she became a yoga teacher RYT 500 an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and continues study in Ayurveda, Reiki, and yoga therapy. Mary sees clients in Clinton, MA at Wachusett Wellness and teaches Ayurveda classes locally and on line. Mary writes on Lyme recovery strategies and Ayurveda for a number of organizations including, Dare to Self Care, Ayurselfcare, The Mighty, Yogahealer and Yoga Health Coaching.

Jillian is an herbalist, health educator, passionate gardener and mama. She has a background in clinical herbalism, naturopathy, permaculture and plant mysticism. She studied Naturopathy and traditional European herbalism at Southern Cross University in Australia and has been lucky to learn from many incredible American herbalists as well. Jillian lives close to the Earth on a permaculture homestead with her family in Hope, Maine. She is passionate about plant spirit medicine, holistic anatomy and folk herbalism.

Irischa Valentin<< De La Tierra Botanicals and Seeds of our Ancestor >>Class: Desde Borikén: AlcoholadoIrischa is a community herbalist and educator committed to sharing herbalism as healing with oppressed communities as an expression of social justice, sovereignty, and connecting. Irischa’s herbal knowledge integrates folk medicine, remembering our relationship with plants for self-healing, relearning the ways of our ancestors, & Earth-based spiritual practices. ​

Beth Waterfall is on a mission to use education, compassion and advocacy to break the stigma against people who use and work with cannabis. Recently named to the Boston Business Journal’s 2018 40 Under 40 list, Beth is founder and executive director of ELEVATE Northeast, managing director of the New England Cannabis Conventions, and founder and president of cannabis marketing and events consultancy Beth Waterfall Creative. As a marketing advisor, she helps cannabis executives and companies grow through effective communications, strategic connections and unforgettable event experiences. She is also a passionate educator dedicated to positive public relations for cannabis and is an ardent advocate for inclusion, leadership and ownership in the cannabis industry for women, LGBTQA+ and other traditionally marginalized groups. Beth has written for the Boston Globe, Ladybud, 1000 Watts, Freedom Leaf, and Cape and Plymouth Business magazines, and is a frequent speaker at cannabis industry and community events.

Iris Weaver, M.A., is a Shamanic Herbalist and Foraging Instructor who teaches classes on connecting with the spirit and energy of plants in order to have your own direct connection with your helping plants. She leads plant walks on finding and using edible and medicinal plants in urban, suburban, and rural settings, as well as workshops on making natural herbal skincare and herbal medicines, and how to use them. She is a co-founder of the North Shore Herbal Network, a community of herbalists and enthusiasts exploring the many aspects of plants on the North Shore of Boston.

Shawn is a mother, intuitive plant healer and flower essence therapist. She has experienced transformative shifts in her life through connecting with the divine, angelic wisdom of flowers and her plant allies, and loves to spread the joy of the plant-human relationship. Honest Owl Herbal was born from a passion for simple, pure herbal remedies and plant spirit connection through daily self care.

Angela WindslowClass: Ayahuasca Medicine: Following the Sacred Vine

Angela is currently pursuing an MA in Holistic Mental Health Counseling at Lesley University, and is involved in the Phase 3 trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as treatment for Complex PTSD. She has a background in yoga and meditation and became interested in psychedelic medicine after having profound experiences with Ayahuasca in the Peruvian Amazon and subsequent work with other plants medicines. She is deeply curious about endogenous altered states as well, and currently works with sensory deprivation tanks. It is her firm belief that the mystical states brought about by plant medicines have the potential to affect deep societal change and healing in a time of crisis.

Abigail is a gardener, ceramic artist and herbalist living in Somerville. It brings her joy in helping people connect with plants, from the beauty of flowers to the deliciousness of homegrown vegetables. Fostering these connections to the natural world grows health, happiness and resilience in our lives.

Santalena is the Creator and founder of Heart Grown Wild a small batch skincare business based out of Vermont. Santalena crafts hydrosols, face toners, body oils, honey masks, serums, strand and bath soaks. Santalena’s dynamic background of mental health social work and a love for plants, nature and alternative modalities helped formulate her herbal skincare products. It is her hope that each bottle act as a portal, bringing the beauty and connection of the natural world into your skin. She hopes to inspire an element of ritual into our daily skincare routines with each product she creates. ​